Wedding Music and Mass
  • youngcatholicgirlyoungcatholicgirl
    Posts: 39
    Hi everyone,

    I realize I fell off the face of the forum a long time ago. Anyway, I'm working on wedding music, but not to play the organ for a wedding -- for my own wedding!!

    I have a handful of questions:
    1. The wedding date is June 28th. If we have a TLM like we're hoping, would we have to use the Mass of the Vigil of Peter and Paul, or could we have the Missa Pro Sponsis et Sponsa? An N.O. Mass would be the Immaculate Heart.
    2. Which Kyriale ought we to use? I'm not sure what the schola at the parish is familiar with as far as chant (it's my fiancé's parish), but I'm inclined to go with Mass VIII if we can.
    3. Are there simple chant settings for the propers of either potential Mass? I don't want to require too much of the schola, they have Christmas and Easter to think about before the wedding.

    Finally, here is what we've picked out for hymns and motets. There's no organ in the church and we have determined we absolutely do not want the piano, so it will be a capella.

    Processional: Holy Holy Holy
    Offertory 1: Ave Generosa (Ola Gjeilo)
    Offertory 2: Ave Maris Stella (chant)
    Communion 1: Ave Verum Corpus (Byrd)
    Communion 2: O Sacrum Convivium (Bartolucci or an arrangement for three women's voices that the schola already knows)
    Flowers for Our Lady: Ave Maria (Archadelt)
    Recessional: All Creatures of Our God and King
    Thanked by 2irishtenor CHGiffen
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,247
    The nuptial Mass always trumps the vigils (or you can’t do a wedding anyway). There are some commemorations under pre-1955. I’m pretty sure that a sung TLM under 1962 is just the nuptial Mass, no commemorations.

    VIII is fine, but in theory you can do any except XVIII (although the customary seasonal ones and XI for Sunday would be a bridge too far for me).

    I would pick just one piece for the offertory etc. And yes, simple propers exist or can be created with psalm tones (Ben Bloomfield’s site would do this quite easily) but… why? They want to sing for the wedding — yours. Or they will be doing so anyway.

    I personally find that being demanding with respect to the details of your own wedding, so long as you are self-aware, to be far different than what we see as bad behavior from a bride in particular and which we normally condemn as church musicians. And really at that point, if it’s the NO, a Gregorian responsorial psalm > a simplified gradual.
    Thanked by 1youngcatholicgirl
  • trentonjconn
    Posts: 611
    Having them put together beautiful motets but then psalm-toning the propers is backwards! Propers are more important, as they're part of the Mass itself (I'm sure you know this, so forgive me for preaching to the choir). Congrats on choosing a capella over using the piano; it's absolutely the right choice. I'd recommend Mass IX for the ordinaries.
    Thanked by 5OMagnumMysterium MatthewRoth youngcatholicgirl SirIggle LauraKaz
  • vansensei
    Posts: 218
    @trentonjconn -- that's just called the 1950s. ;)
    Thanked by 1trentonjconn
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